


In Which A Moment of Clarity Saves a Lot of Trouble

by TtotheCofA



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: OT3 in mind but nothing actually happens in this one, Vivi is mentioned but not featured, a fix-it fic of sorts, and all the injuries that come with falling off a cliff, because I love me some angst but I love me some resolution just as much, rated for the skewering of a robot arm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 13:45:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18223928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TtotheCofA/pseuds/TtotheCofA
Summary: Shorter than what I usually post up here, but I've realized that not many of my Tumblr writings have migrated over to A03, and since Hellbent is still relatively recent in the fandom....here you go?Written by request of sionnachsskulk on Tumblr.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Shorter than what I usually post up here, but I've realized that not many of my Tumblr writings have migrated over to A03, and since Hellbent is still relatively recent in the fandom....here you go?
> 
> Written by request of sionnachsskulk on Tumblr.

“….-ake up!” The slap to his face was significantly furrier than he was expecting, and Arthur’s eyes snapped open from shock, if nothing else.

“Oh, thank _Inari_ …” Mystery was standing before him, pawing at his shirt with one tentative - but frantic - limb. A massive pink stalagmite towered above him, spearing his prosthetic through the forearm, and dangling him awkwardly from the shoulder. “Quickly, how many-oh. No fingers. Um. How many ears am I wiggling?”

“….” Arthur looked at the canine funny. His back felt hot and wet at the same time, and there was something sticky dripping down his good arm. “You’re not wiggling your ears….” He pointed out. Mystery visibly sagged in relief. That didn’t mean all was well, but at least his friend wasn’t suffering double-vision. 

“Good, good. Exactly right.” The canine started to shift anxiously on his paws, looking up at the ceiling every now and then as if watching something. The hair on the back of his neck started to bristle, and a magenta light that sparked an uneasy feeling in his gut slowly began to illuminate the cavern floor from somewhere up above.

“Arthur, I need to you reach up, and disengage your arm, alright?” Mystery’s voice had dropped to a low octave of forced calm, and his eyes were glued to the ceiling. Something was coming down, and Arthur had a sinking feeling that he knew what - or who - it was. “I’d do it for you, but I don’t have thumbs.”

Obediently, Arthur lifted his good arm from the floor to reach for his left bicep. The sticky feeling only increased as he bent his elbow, and just about the time he went to roll up his left sleeve, he noticed the blood dripping from his fingers. The blond hissed a startled breath through his teeth, and Mystery growled,

“Arthur, focus! Arm now, panic later!” Arthur, however, couldn’t stop himself from looking up at the towering form of the ghost - of Lewis - as his feet came down to the floor. His heart started to race in his chest, but in contrast, a cold sensation began to pool in his stomach. There was nothing but a skull, now, but he knew what he’d seen before the drop.

“Lewis…?” Arthur let go of his sleeve, and dropped his hand back down to the bloody ground to brace himself. “Is that-…” His throat closed in a sudden sob. “Is it really… _you_?”

“…..” Lewis’ glowing eyes moved from the trapped man to where the metal arm was still impaled on the stalagmite. He waved his hand, and the cave just…dissolved. The stalagmites blew away like smoke, and Arthur’s prosthetic hit the ground with a hollow _‘clang’_.

Arthur himself made a noise of pain upon landing on his scraped up back, but before he could roll over, Mystery splashed through the bloody puddle to stand over his head, still snapping at the ghost that now stood only a few feet away. That cold sensation turned to ice when Lewis looked down again, and Arthur went stiff as a board as his once-lost friend moved to kneel down.

“Arthur,” Lewis seemed to be searching for his words, and his tone sounded almost…afraid. “What…happened to your arm?”

“…..” Arthur felt like he was trying to swallow a jawbreaker. “I-it….g-g-got impaled…?” His voice turned up at the end, as if asking a question.

“That’s. That’s not what I-.” Lewis stopped, and ran a hand through the fiery pompadour on his skull. Arthur found himself watching in dull amazement as the fire curved and swirled around the ghosts’ fingers before resuming its shape. Vivi would have been fascinated.

“I…think…I’m missing something…something _big_.” Lewis moved to sit down on the - metal? Were they still in the truck? - floor. Mystery reigned in his barking to a simple, soundless, teeth-bared growl, and Arthur slowly pushed his way up to a sitting position with his one good arm. A long, awkward minute of tense silence stretched between them, and then Lewis finally spoke up.

“Let’s start over….”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a separate request, but written as a follow up to the first one.
> 
> Added to slightly because I was never satisfied with the original ending.

“….and when I woke up, you were-…you were _gone_.” Arthur pulled his knees a little closer to his chest. They were sitting in a rough sort of circle, now, with Lewis and his little spirits (“Deadbeats”, he’d supplied) on one side, and Arthur and Mystery on the other.

It would have been a funny sight, if not for the drying blood still staining Arthur’s back and flesh arm from his very, _very_ close call.

“ _You_ were gone and my _arm_ was gone and Vivi had no _idea_ who you even _were_ -” The blond ran his good hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, and Lewis visibly winced at the sight of drying blood flaking off, and leaving behind a dark brownish-streak against the yellow. Arthur tried to take a deep breath, but it didn’t seem to help his nerves very much.

“The Yukinos checked on me when they came to pick up Vivi,” He continued. “And your parents came by and stayed until Lance could get there…” Arthur started to shake, and Mystery hooked a tentative front leg across Arthur’s elbow in comfort. “But they kept-. Asking where you _were_ , were you _okay_ , and-. I. Couldn’t. I couldn’t tell them because I didn’t _know_!”

“How could you not _know?_ ” For once, Lewis didn’t even sound angry. None of the Deadbeats bared their teeth, and they all seemed to act just as despondent as their ghostly master sounded. “After _all_ we went through together, how could you guys just… _forget_ about me like that?!” Arthur made a small sound of laughter, and Lewis’ hair flickered angrily. But the fire died when the laughter trickled off into a sob, and Arthur pressed the palm of his good hand to his forehead.

“The doctors said we had _‘situational-specific psychogenic amnesia’_.” Arthur recited with a monotoned ease that spoke to how many times he’d had to parrot the phrase to the persistent and the curious. “Basically, we lived through something _so_ traumatic, our brains just got rid of the memories, so they couldn’t keep hurting us.

“I couldn’t remember the hours leading up t-…to losing my arm.” For just a second, Arthur’s voice hitched, and his eyes flickered down to Mystery. The canine flattened his ears against his head, but Arthur quickly looked away, and carried on. “And Vivi…Vivi couldn’t remember the night at _all_.”

“It wasn’t until _after_ we were all finally able to come home that we found out how bad the situation really was…” It was Mystery who spoke up, this time. “That Vivi had forgotten not _just_ the events of that night, but everything about you _entirely_. She could stare at a picture of you and you alone, and still see no-one.”

“How is that _possib-_?” Lewis cut himself off when Mystery held up a paw. The Deadbeats shrank down a little behind their master at the chastising.

“We don’t know.” The canine continued. “But it is definitely supernatural in nature, and only focused around _you_. Perhaps her own magic reacted much like her brain, and blocked out the trauma. Perhaps it was a dying wish.” He looked at Lewis very pointedly over his glasses, and the ghost shrank back a little.

“….um.” Lewis gestured with one hand towards Arthur’s left side, where the fried, shredded remains of his prosthetic still hung from his shoulder. “You built that, didn’t you?” He asked, hoping to change the subject. Arthur looked up in surprise, and actually met the ghost’s eyes before glancing away again.

“Y-yeah, I…I did.” He shifted, and reached out a hand to touch where metal met flesh. Lewis couldn't help but stare. “Uncle Lance helped me a lot with forging the pieces, but I did all the wiring and stuff…” He looked down at the forearm, torn open and nearly bisected by the illusory stalagmite, and winced. "Oh, we'll have to rebuild that..."

"....." Lewis' gaze drifted from Arthur's arm to his face to the bloody puddle slowly drying on the floor of the trailer. He didn't have a stomach anymore, but something nauseating was twisting there all the same. What had he done? "You need a hospital." The ghost floated to his feet, and - after a wary glance at Mystery to make sure _he_ wasn't about to lose an arm - reached out a hand for Arthur to take. "You look like death warmed over."

Arthur's laugh was thin and weak, and just the tiniest bit hysterical. But he grabbed Lewis' offered hand with his own remaining one, and let the specter pull him up to his feet. He promptly started to sway backwards, and Lewis hurried to wrap an arm around his shoulders ~~but only his shoulders. His shirt and vest were torn open and bloody and raw and _oh god could ghosts throw up??_~~. Mystery stuck like a burr to Arthur's legs as he staggered along, only barely under his own power, and Lewis send the Deadbeats ahead to open the trailer door. Just as the little spirits were clustering around the handle, there came from outside a mighty-

#  _**BANG.** _

 


End file.
